Getty Images P.J. Tucker lost a lot of money for publicly asking to be traded.
The NBA fined P.J. Tucker $75,000 after the Los Angeles Clippers forward publicly asked to be traded ahead of the league’s February 8 deadline.
This announcement came one day after the Clippers sent Tucker and Bones Hyland home from a road match with the Golden State Warriors. The two will return to the team after the NBA All-Star break this weekend in Indianapolis.
The following has been released by the NBA.
Tucker’s fine amount is the largest for a non-suspension act this year. Clippers star James Harden was fined $100,000 in August for insinuating he wouldn’t participate in Philadelphia 76ers team activities if he wasn’t traded. Coincidentally, Tucker was sent alongside Harden in the blockbuster deal to Los Angeles on November 1.
The 38-year-old’s minutes steadily declined during his 12 games with Los Angeles before Tucker completely fell out of the playing rotation on November 27. He hasn’t seen the court since. When Tucker did play this season, he averaged just 1.2 points and 2.4 rebounds in 14.4 minutes per game.
Tucker’s Public Demands Over the Past Months
Tucker sprinkled breadcrumbs of his frustrations since he joined the Clippers. He told ClutchPoints’ Tomer Azarly on December 11 that he wanted “to go to a good team that I can be able to help,” and then told The Athletic’s Law Murray on February 1 that he was “trying to get in a better situation.”
Everything boiled over the week of the trade deadline, though, when Tucker told ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk in a February 6 article that he was “actively trying to get traded” and then told Andscape’s Marc Spears on February 8 that he was “hoping to go somewhere else.”
When he wasn’t traded, Tucker posted an expletive-laden message on his Instagram story. While he was considered a buy-out candidate by Spears, Tucker remains a member of the Clippers as of this writing.
Why Did Tucker Want to Be Traded?
Tucker’s minutes and role on the team appear to be the biggest driving force as to why he wanted to leave the Clippers.
When rumors about Tucker’s frustrations initially surfaced, Clippers’ head coach told reporters on February 9 that Tucker would get “an opportunity” with the team. However, Lue then said on February 14 that the Clippers have “a set rotation” and mentioned he wanted to keep that chemistry alive with their current crop of players rather than substitute different players in – like Tucker.
“It’s been good for us,” he said of the rotation. “It’s not something we want to change right now.”
This lines up with The Athletic’s Shams Charania’s February 14 report about why Tucker was disgruntled and eventually sent home from the team. Charania added that Tucker and the Clippers “had productive discussions” about “potentially re-entering the rotation.”
Lue added on February 14 that Tucker “wants to play” and that the decision to send him and Hyland home were to “give them a little time off, get their minds right.”
Tucker’s constant NBA movement could play a role his current mindset, too. The Clippers are his seventh team and the third team he’s been traded to since 2012. Tucker even expressed frustration with the constant team movement when he spoke with ESPN.
“You change your life at a drop of a dime,” Tucker said. “Where you live, especially when it’s cross country, ain’t nothing like it. If you’ve never experienced it or went through it, you’d never understand it. Your kids are changing schools. … Your whole entire life changes. In 24 hours, you are playing for another team in another city. Getting all your stuff, uprooting your entire life.”
For now, Tucker is away from the team until after the All-Star break. What happens next is up to the Clippers in the second half of the season. Los Angeles currently sits third in the Western Conference.